Students are Dirty - Your Feedback

Hi Everyone,

On Wednesday we asked you whether you thought students are really dirty.  Unfortunately, the evidence is rather inconclusive.  It appears that “dirtiness” often comes down to perspective.  Here are some of the responses that we received:

In my last year of undergrad, I moved into a flat with a friend and his mutual friend.  I had lived with other students before and I didn’t think my friend and I were particularly dirty.  But, apparently, we were.  We would take turns cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, and emptying the rubbish bin now and again.  I thought it worked.  Unfortunately, this didn’t appear good enough for our third roommate, who one day came up with a strict cleaning rota and began leaving notes (somewhat passive aggressively) everywhere:  on the stove, on the dish-rack, on the bathroom mirrors, and on our doors reminding us that it was our particular day to carry out a certain task.  I think this just illustrates that cleaning standards vary from person to person and, although I didn’t think I was that bad, evidently someone thought that I was disgusting.

-Anonymous

Photographer: Anonymous

I lived in halls of residence with three other girls. Although we didn’t know each other, we were able to arrange a schedule for household chores and decided to share the expenses for necessities such as toilet paper, dishwashing detergent, broom and other cleaning equipment. The time showed we all had the same perception of cleanliness. We were clean, but not clean freaks. We always cleaned our dishes after use, but we left our personal mugs in the sink overnight. 

When it comes to keeping our apartment clean, we were disciplined. Each of us was completely aware of her duties. We knew exactly when and what we had to clean. When came turn to clean, we cleaned all the shared spaces – kitchen and bathroom. In the kitchen we especially focused on the counter, sink and stove. Twice a year – before the halls inspection announced its visit - we also cleaned the windows, inside of kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator. 

When the two girls finished with their studies they moved out and new flatmates, a couple, moved in. We tried to continue with former cleaning arrangement, but unfortunately, they were not as reliable as our former flatmates. Since the boy was a bit lazy, usually his girlfriend cleaned for him. Sometimes we had problems remembering whose turn for cleaning is, therefore we established written cleaning schedule.  

-Anita

Photographer: Anonymous

 

Thanks to everyone for your responses.  Next week we will leave the topic of cleanliness behind and explore the contents of your fridge!